Making a batch of medieval aspen barrelled arrows

[Ruddy Darter]

Hello all,
 I'm aiming to make a batch of medieval aspen arrows with a barrelled profile, 3/8" at the arrowhead socket tapering up to just under 1/2" at the chest which will be 4" up, and with a bobtail taper 15&1/4" to the nock end  which will be about 11/32" at the nock. Final arrow length 31" (socket shoulder to nock groove.)
It's a first for me to make arrows from square stock so I thought I'd post a build along of it. (also encourage me to press on with it  )
For a long time I've wanted to use authentic aspen (Populus tremula) like the majority of the Mary Rose arrows, but couldn't find a source for the timber anywhere UK or Europe (?). I did obtain some lengths from a Sauna bench timber supply company in the end. Knot free and pretty straight grained.
Works out I carefully saw the lengths in quarters lengthways I end up with 8x35" square stock arrow shafts. It's great wood and is working out quite economical 
Here's the start.. sawn in quarters roughly 14mmx14mm, tension release and maybe friction heat from the hand saw they needed a bit of straightening so made a jig that works pretty good, didn't really need any heat only for the very worst. (Broke one shaft being heavy handed).
I'm aiming to make them as authentic as possible using rabbit skin glue for the cowhorn sliver reinforcement at the nock, goose feathers I've collected locally and beeswax, pine resin and verdigris from copper I've had sitting over vinegar in a jar for the bindings of fine red silk. (But I will be glueing the short type 10 Hector Cole MBE arrowheads on with epoxy as they will be shot at hard targets repeatedly.)
R.D.

[Pat B]

Cool, RD, looking forward to your progress.   

[Ruddy Darter]

Thanks Pat B,
 I haven't got  my workspace for bow making for a while (plumbing issue/leaking pipe) so a good time to get into this project.
Here's the feathers I got from my local pond, not graylag geese but some nice Canadian goose feathers that can hopefully be forgiven in regards to authenticity ,( and these geese do honk with a British accent, eh?  ),
I gave them a bath in a solution of disinfectant, stuck them in the ground to dry and matched them up into threes, (I got another box full of these, the geese do very well around here).
Here are the other components I've got together... beeswax pellets, gum rosin(refined pine resin), fine red silk, and the short type 10 arrowheads. The piece of copper pipe I'm using for verdigris is what the plumber cut out and replaced so I really wanted to make a use from that inconvenience 
(I won't be using a fletching jig but tieing on the feathers by hand over the wax mixture.)
I will not be using any tallow in the wax mixture (for repeated use I'll be wanting a fairly firm sealant for the bindings) so no real need for the antifungal verdigris, it's more for the look and to see for an even coating.
R.D.

[Ruddy Darter]

... lengths sawn to 32" and squared down to a little under 13mm with a little block plane. I marked on the front and rear tapers which I'll also take down with the block plane.
R.D.

[Ruddy Darter]

Started preparing the fletchings ( which will be a smidge under 7" in length), I don't get on with stripping feathers as I mess up about one in every three that way (I think the rule of thumb is if you strip feathers best to do it as soon as possible from collection, and if grinding wait a few weeks for them to dry out), so I split mine with a utility knife down the quill and I'll be grinding them on some stuck down aluminium oxide cloth. I converted an old arrow tapering jig (I made from some aluminium right angle fixed on oak lengths) into a clamp to grind the feather quills down, I've yet to try it out properly but happy how that turned out and should make light work of what I've always found a little tedious.
...made a start on the first two sides of the tapers...and then to mark on and plane the final two..
 R.D.

[Ruddy Darter]

Got the last of the tapering done.
 I started preparing some cowhorn for nock inserts, I've got a sheet of honey clear horn and I've had a blackened heat flattened horn sheet for a couple of years that I didn't rate as being any good, but gave it a rough clean and showing a nice honey colour and very usable.
I'm aiming to make the inserts neat and as thin as possible.
I'll rasp them thin to fit the sawn slot.
I made a v groove shooting board ( ash shaft for show) that clamps in the work bench, so next step (hoping I do a good job on this part) round off the shafts with a little bullnose plane and try out an antique 1/2" moulding plane I got cheap off eBay, then I'll tenon saw the slots for the nock horn inserts.

 R.D.

[Pat B]

 

[Hawkdancer]

Quite the project
Hawkdncer

[Ruddy Darter]

Hi Hawkdancer, I'm just feeling my way with these first arrows and see how they come out, then refine techniques so hopefully anymore I make with this wood should be plain sailing. I am enjoying it taking my time.
 I've decided not to use the verdigris as it serves no benefit or purpose in the resin/beeswax sealer for the fletchings, and adding it for the sake of it doesn't strike me as being "authentic", so just resin and beeswax.

..." some background classy classical music playing"..spell of stormy weather interval...   
R.D.

[Pat B]

RD, are you using a jig for the fletching or are you just fletching by hand?  Nice build along!   

[Ruddy Darter]

 I'll be tying the feathers on by hand, without a jig, over the beeswax/pine resin and then remelting the wax around the silk thread with kettle steam or heat gun. I tried this method out on some ash arrows a while ago, (I'll get the mix a bit better now) and I find it's the best way to fletch now.
 R.D.

[Pat B]

Very cool!   

[Ruddy Darter]

Thank you Pat,
I'm looking forward to continuing with these,
I'm going to grind the feathers down as thinly as possible.
It is troublesome to get on and smooth out if there is too much pine resin in the mix, I've found a two part beeswax/one part pine resin (I'm using refined to gum rosin) is the happy trade-off for me.
R.D.

[Ruddy Darter]

I finished rounding the shafts (with a further final finish when arrowheads and horn are in place), I planed the lengths to an even sided octagon and then skimmed the remaining edges and finished with a concave cabinet scraper.
I then marked back and front where to saw the slots for the 2" horn inserts.
 R.D.

[Ruddy Darter]

I sawed in the slots (in line with the end grain) for the horn insert, I marked back and front so I keep the saw on track,
I then tidy and square up the slot with a flat nail sander, flat needle file and a steel rule with 180 grit cloth stuck to it. This gets a nice neat glue line with the horn inserts.
I'm working down the horn with a small japanese file and smoothing flat on the glued down120 grit cloth. I got some rabbit skin glue soaking and hope to glue in the inserts in the very near future.
R.D.